A new screw-up

[GPa Bob]

After 2 great batches I finally made a (IMHO) huge error. I was bottling my third batch (a 5 gallon oatmeal stout extract from Midwest, no secondary fermenting). I cleaned the bottles, rinsed, and sanitized. I then made up my priming solution, cooled it somewhat and poured into my bottling bucket and transferred from primary fermenter to bottling bucket…so far so good. I then started bottling. After the first case, I realized I hadn’t stirred the priming solution to mix!! Not knowing what to do, I decided to just go on. I am NOT going to throw it out … at least until I have tasted it! But, any ideas on what’s going to happen? Will I have half over-carbonated and half flat beers? Some bottle bombs? Your opinions, please. Thanks.

 

[bbohanon]

Sounds like you got the priming sugar into the batch and even racked it on top of the solution so it got mixed in when the beer was racked on top of it. Thats all that matters. When I was still bottle priming, I never stirred when I racked the beer onto the priming sugar as I was afraid of oxygenating the beer too much and never had a single bottle bomb. You will be just fine.


Cheers!

 

[RM-MN]

After 2 great batches I finally made a (IMHO) huge error. I was bottling my third batch (a 5 gallon oatmeal stout extract from Midwest, no secondary fermenting). I cleaned the bottles, rinsed, and sanitized. I then made up my priming solution, cooled it somewhat and poured into my bottling bucket and transferred from primary fermenter to bottling bucket…so far so good. I then started bottling. After the first case, I realized I hadn’t stirred the priming solution to mix!! Not knowing what to do, I decided to just go on. I am NOT going to throw it out … at least until I have tasted it! But, any ideas on what’s going to happen? Will I have half over-carbonated and half flat beers? Some bottle bombs? Your opinions, please. Thanks.

Racking onto the priming sugar usually causes pretty good mixing but you still can have some over and some under carbonated. Bottle bombs are unlikely.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

It should be fine, as others have said the priming solution naturally mixes in.

 

[bleme]

I've had a few batches where some were under-carbed and some over. They were still drinkable. The only ones that blew were in 22oz bottles that got up to 90F in the garage.

 

[ncbrewer]

Racking onto the priming sugar usually causes pretty good mixing but you still can have some over and some under carbonated. Bottle bombs are unlikely.

I racked to the bottling bucket without stirring for several years with pretty good success. But as RM-MN notes, it's not perfect. I've gone back to gentle stirring. Your batch should be fine.

 

[deadwolfbones]

I had one similar error, where I made the priming solution too thick and didn't stir. The result was some very overcarbonated beers toward the end of the bottling run and some very under-carbed ones toward the beginning. With enough time, they all carbed up acceptably, if not quite where I wanted them. I just drank the overcarbed ones first to avoid bottle bombs.

 

[bleme]

To track down my carbonation variances I started numbering the caps as I bottled. I was soooo glad when I finally got kegs and could put that behind me.

 

[Lefou]

The nagging uncertainty of unevenly carbonated batches led me to individual priming of bottles.
I've had only one bottle shatter out of almost two dozen in a batch that was over-carbed. It didn't go "boom", and I expect it might've been weaker than the others.

 

[kh54s10]

In about 45 five gallon batches, I have stirred once. I make sure the siphon hose is curled around the side at the bottom. It makes a vortex and mixes the priming solution quite well. In those 45 batches I have had 2 or 3 with minor variation from bottle to bottle. The one I stirred was after one of these and didn't seem to make much difference.

 

[TwistedGray]

The nagging uncertainty of unevenly carbonated batches led me to individual priming of bottles.

Exactly the same process. While it adds some time (relatively little) it ensures consistent carbonation throughout the entire batch. If kits come with priming sugar I just chuck them in the boil.

 

[LittleRiver]

...I realized I hadn’t stirred the priming solution ... I am NOT going to throw it out …

A few months ago I did the exact same thing with an oatmeal stout. Some bottles were overcarbed, after pouring I let them settle down and drank them. Some bottles were flat when poured, I drank them too. They were all good, and they're going to be even better next time I brew that recipe and stir in my priming solution. No bottle bombs.

 

[kh54s10]

The nagging uncertainty of unevenly carbonated batches led me to individual priming of bottles.
I've had only one bottle shatter out of almost two dozen in a batch that was over-carbed. It didn't go "boom", and I expect it might've been weaker than the others.

Exactly the same process. While it adds some time (relatively little) it ensures consistent carbonation throughout the entire batch. If kits come with priming sugar I just chuck them in the boil.

How are you guys priming. If you put sugar in the bottles dry, the only way to be accurate is to weigh out the sugar for each bottle. If you use priming tabs you can't adjust easily for beer style. I used priming tabs once when I didn't have enough corn sugar on hand. I only tabbed half the batch and even just dropping a tab in each bottle I found it a PITA!

 

[TwistedGray]

How are you guys priming. If you put sugar in the bottles dry, the only way to be accurate is to weigh out the sugar for each bottle. If you use priming tabs you can't adjust easily for beer style. I used priming tabs once when I didn't have enough corn sugar on hand. I only tabbed half the batch and even just dropping a tab in each bottle I found it a PITA!

It's 1/2tsp per 12oz bottle, pretty straightforward.

 

[kh54s10]

It's 1/2tsp per 12oz bottle, pretty straightforward.

IMO, not so much. There will be a lot of variation in how much you think 1/2 teaspoon is. Did you get the sugar loose or packed in if you scooped from the side of the container. Whether it is really noticeable??

Added: What if you want one beer at 3 volumes and another at 2.5 volumes. Making that adjustment would be a PITA.

 

[Lefou]

Not much of a problem for me when using sugar cubes. My batches are never more than 3-5 gallons and when using 22oz bottles the bottling process isn't that time consuming.
I'm going to kegging eventually when I can source cheap and easy CO2 on a regular basis.

 

[TwistedGray]

IMO, not so much. There will be a lot of variation in how much you think 1/2 teaspoon is. Did you get the sugar loose or packed in if you scooped from the side of the container. Whether it is really noticeable??

Added: What if you want one beer at 3 volumes and another at 2.5 volumes. Making that adjustment would be a PITA.

It's just like baking. Take your 1/2tsp scoop, put in sugar vessel, clear off the top and pour into your bottle. If you're talking variation issues you're talking grains of sugar. I usually bottle 12oz and 22oz so it's 1/2tsp and 1tsp. The 2oz difference doesn't play a factor at 22oz...at least it's never for me.

 

[ncbrewer]

The 2oz difference doesn't play a factor at 22oz...at least it's never for me.

Maybe I'm especially sensitive to carbonation level, but that difference is very noticeable to me. I pick up on a difference of 0.1 - 0.2 volumes of CO2, so I bulk prime and measure the sugar to 0.01 oz accuracy.

 

[Redpappy]

that is pretty much how I do my bottling. I have noticed some variations but nothing that would make me change how i do my process.

 

[LostHopper]

Maybe I'm especially sensitive to carbonation level, but that difference is very noticeable to me. I pick up on a difference of 0.1 - 0.2 volumes of CO2, so I bulk prime and measure the sugar to 0.01 oz accuracy.

Are you able to determine how much beer will be in the bottling bucket to the same level of accuracy? The volume of yeast cake and trub in my fermenter is strictly a guess especially when I use a bucket. This means I'm also guessing how much beer will be transferred and bottled. I'm usually within a few bottles but this still makes any priming sugar calculation done before transferring to the bottling bucket just a good guess.

 

[ncbrewer]

Are you able to determine how much beer will be in the bottling bucket to the same level of accuracy? The volume of yeast cake and trub in my fermenter is strictly a guess especially when I use a bucket. This means I'm also guessing how much beer will be transferred and bottled. I'm usually within a few bottles but this still makes any priming sugar calculation done before transferring to the bottling bucket just a good guess.

My brews don't vary much in gravity, and they are pretty consistent as far as trub loss. Samples and priming sugar are accounted for. But I agree - if you brew a wider variety of beer styles, it could get to be more of a guess.

 

[GPa Bob]

It's 1/2tsp per 12oz bottle, pretty straightforward.

That's exactly the way I did it 40 years ago. Only we used table sugar then.

 

[GPa Bob]

Thanks,everyone for your encouragement. It was probably not as huge an error as I thought it was.

 

[TwistedGray]

That's exactly the way I did it 40 years ago. Only we used table sugar then.

I use table sugar.

 

[Gavin C]

After 2 great batches I finally made a (IMHO) huge error. I was bottling my third batch (a 5 gallon oatmeal stout extract from Midwest, no secondary fermenting). I cleaned the bottles, rinsed, and sanitized. I then made up my priming solution, cooled it somewhat and poured into my bottling bucket and transferred from primary fermenter to bottling bucket…so far so good. I then started bottling. After the first case, I realized I hadn’t stirred the priming solution to mix!! Not knowing what to do, I decided to just go on. I am NOT going to throw it out … at least until I have tasted it! But, any ideas on what’s going to happen? Will I have half over-carbonated and half flat beers? Some bottle bombs? Your opinions, please. Thanks.

Good!

Never Stir. Let the racking do the mixing. (coil the transfer tube at the base of the bottling bucket and at the resultant passive swirl will produce optimal homogeneity)

Less agitation~less oxygenation.

 

[applescrap]

I dont like bulk priming. The comments above havent dissuaded me either. Some get over primed, some under. My buddies usage of bulk priming has always resulted in problems some way or another. I also reccomend pet bottles. It seems the answer to your question is that it will be ok, but the real answer is to maybe try putting a scoop/tab in each bottle and that is what I would do i think.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I use table sugar.

How do you get the sugar into each bottle? A cleaned/sanitized funnel?
I bulk primed my last batch and it didn't go well. I underestimated my packaging amount 3.75gal actual), but bulk primed for 5.0gal. No bottle bombs but certainly over carbed. I was thinking of switching to either adding the corn sugar to each bottle or using carbonation drops. Drops would seem much easier at first thought.

 

[TwistedGray]

How do you get the sugar into each bottle? A cleaned/sanitized funnel?
I bulk primed my last batch and it didn't go well. I underestimated my packaging amount 3.75gal actual), but bulk primed for 5.0gal. No bottle bombs but certainly over carbed. I was thinking of switching to either adding the corn sugar to each bottle or using carbonation drops. Drops would seem much easier at first thought.

Exatly, funnel and done. You have to funnel all first then spout em from the bottling bucket or whatever you use...simple and cheap.